Midnight
Before
Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time there lived a woman whose home was not a place, but rather a person. While a sad tale is usually what comes next in tales such as these, that isn’t our story.
Orphanhood found Lucinda before she had the ability to retain memories and soon after that Lyra had come to her.
Or rather she to Lyra. It began as a matter of business.
There was much to be done at a home the size of Blythe Manor and orphans were easy enough to train.
So it was that Lucinda came to the manor at just five years old.
Her chores were simple enough. Helping with cooking, laundry, and whatever else her clumsy young hands could manage.
Until something entirely unexpected happened.
A soft lullaby that called to the part of her soul that would forever crave comfort, echoed through the open windows of the manor.
Lucinda walked towards the sound and found a pale, scrawny girl positioned by the open window beneath a bundle of blankets.
No two souls had or would ever resonate with a single glance like they did that day.
Lucinda had found her home and so it was written into the stars and the law of Blythe Manor.
The manor’s housekeeper, Mrs. Blakesley, had quite a time trying to keep Lucinda on task.
In fact, given even a second to elope, Lucinda would find herself on that upstairs windowsill next to Lyra.
With only six months separating them, they quickly understood each other.
Lyra had always been a sickly child. Her joints often filled with fluid and were still and painful.
It made it difficult for her to socialize with the other aristocratic children and often left her ostracized.
What might have left her bitter and wilting merely strengthened her kind heart. She was only ever grateful for the good days and, of course, for her Lucinda. As for Lucinda, having no family was no great hardship when Lyra was always by her side. And that, my friends, is how our story begins.
Chapter One
In A Kingdom Far Far Away
The Beast was but a man tortured. He’d never known the warmth of love and only the cold, icy tendrils of arrogance.
The day he laid eyes on her, it was the first thawing of his stone heart.
For she did not run from him or beg him to spare her life.
Instead, she stood tall and faced him with courage despite the fear she must have felt.
-Tales from Meridea, Volume I
The light flashed across the dark wooden floor and was quickly trailed by the pouncing of paws that sought to destroy it.
However, the light was persistent in its continued existence and merely moved a few feet down to hide beneath a blue chest of drawers.
A fierce growl followed a small thump, nevertheless the light persisted.
“Let him have it, Luci. The poor beast is about to lose his mind.” Lyra giggled.
Shifting the small mirror in her hand, Lucinda angled it to catch the light of the sun pouring in through the open window, blue curtains rippling with the spring air pressing in.
The orange fur ball that was Calcifer let out an indignant shout as he tried to follow it and instead hit his head on the chest he had been under.
Luci set down the mirror and gave the creature her sternest face.
“That’s what you get for stealing milk that doesn’t belong to you,” she pointed a finger at him for added emphasis.
Calcifer merely crawled out from beneath the chest and met her stare before licking his paw and going to curl up beneath the window where the sun’s rays settled just right to provide warmth. Within mere seconds, rumbling purrs filled the room.
Luci sat up straighter on the bed and shot Lyra a disbelieving glance, gesturing to the beast. “Do you see? He is immune to consequences.”
A fond smile fell over Lyra’s perfect heart-shaped lips, which were small and pale. “And why should he be punished in the first place? It isn’t his fault; he gets thirsty at night.”
Rolling her eyes, Luci let herself flop back onto the mountain of baby blue blankets piling Lyra’s bed. They coated her form like a nest, perfectly contouring her as if made for her. Satin and cotton mix together in a perfect symphony of comfort.
“It was for you, not the cat!”
A sweet melodic chuckle came from Lyra as she patted Luci consolingly on the head.
“I’m sure he feels plenty sorry,” she tried.
Lifting her head, Luci found the creature sprawled out on its back, eyes closed, and purring even louder than before. She let her head fall back with a grunt.
“Looks really sorry,” she grumbled.
Lyra’s lilting laugh was punctuated by a sharp intake of breath that ran a chill down Luci’s spine.
The blood rushed from her head too quickly as she sat up and surveyed her friend, who was more like a sister.
Lyra's thin hand reached for her right knee, which was buried beneath blankets. Her eyes were slightly sunken, and even her face was paler than usual. Worry, familiar and consuming, wrapped its hands around Luci’s throat, constricting her breath.
“I’ll go get your tonic,” Luci said as if suddenly realizing she could do more than stare.
As she scooted herself off the massive bed, Lyra reached for her. “No, don’t. I’m fine, I promise. I just want to enjoy the first day of spring with you and Calcifer.”
Concern ebbed and flowed throughout her in that all too familiar sea. Helplessness.
“Ly, you are in pain,” she tried.
Her friend’s smile was small and consuming. “No more than usual.”
It was probably a lie wrapped in a small truth.
Lyra had more bad days than good, though she would try to convince anyone who asked differently.
Most people would have lost themselves beneath the pain she endured every moment, but not Lyra.
She was the epitome of grace and dignity.
When the powers that be designed her, they had placed an angel in her frail body.
It was the only explanation for how she was.
A small hand slid into Luci’s. “You know what Mrs. Blakesly always says-”
“Too many sweets will make your teeth fall out,” Luci said, soberly.
Lyra snorted. “No, the other thing she says.”
“Young ladies should not snort.”
Her laugh was a balm to Luci’s worries.
“The one about frowning.”
Luci sat up straight and thinned her lips, attempting her most severe and disapproving countenance. “A young woman who frowns too often will find herself with a face full of wrinkles before her time.”
Squinting her eyes, Lyra leaned forward, studying Luci before pointing at her. “Look, I can see one forming right there.”
Luci gently swatted away her hand and settled in close to her, resting her head on Lyra’s shoulder.
Breathing in the smell of elderberry and ginger, Luci let herself soak in the moment.
As far as days went, today was better than most. Winter had been hard.
The cold seeped into Lyra’s joints and made her bones ache.
Her tonics took most of the pain, but they also made her sleepy, which was more of a hardship to her than the pain.
That was the thing about pain. It made Lyra’s thirst for life insatiable.
She was desperate to enjoy the moments that weren’t wrapped in swollen joints and painful movements.
“Spring is finally here. It’ll get better.” Lyra said, echoing Luci’s thoughts as she so often did.
The breath Luci took was from deep in her soul.
One that resonated with every fear she ever had, but tempered by the gentle rise and fall of Lyra’s chest. The winter had been hard.
Even though they never left Blythe Manor and Mrs. Blakesly made sure to quarantine any servants who showed a hint of ailment, Lyra had gotten sick twice.
The second time, the body aches and fevers had been bad enough that Luci’s fear had swallowed her whole.
It was an experience that she wished she could rip from her mind instead of falling back into the memories over and over.
“Read to me?” Lyra asked, quietly.
It was an attempt to pull Luci back from her thoughts, but an effective one.
Luci hadn’t been able to say no to her friend since they were five years old and found each other.
Reaching for the leather-bound book on the light blue nightstand, she settled back into Lyra.
A fresh spring breeze wrapped around the open room they shared, a rush of trees outside settling over them.
Some days, the walls of magnolias surrounded by navy blue were too confining, scratching at Luci’s mind, but today, with the promise of spring, it was a comfort.
“Where were we?” she asked, gently brushing Lyra’s thin blond hair to the side. “Oh, yes, the beast just saved her from the wolves.”
“It was very romantic.” Lyra hummed.
A snort that Mrs. Blakesly would wholeheartedly disapprove of broke from Luci. “Except for the part where she wouldn’t have needed to be saved if he hadn’t held her hostage and scared her.”
The smell of fresh strawberries blew in with the breeze, and Lyra hummed softly next to her.
It was as if the winter hardships were forgotten amidst the promise of spring.
Blythe Manor, among its heritage as a noble house, was also the foremost in strawberry production within Meridia.
It was early for the strawberries to bloom, but it also felt like a well-deserved boon.
“Maybe we can convince Archie to make a strawberry shortcake?” Lyra asked, clearly drinking in the familiar smell as well.
Luci rolled her eyes, fighting back amusement. “You could convince Archie to give you his firstborn son if you wanted.”
Lyra’s lips thinned, eyes drifting to the open window. “He feels sorry for me.”